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Origin and history

The Saint-Lazare convent, known as the Dominicans, is a religious building built in Marseilles in 1868 by architect Pierre Bossan, famous for his neo-classical style inspired by Romanesque-Byzantine influences. It is inseparable from the Church of Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire, erected simultaneously according to the same plans. Located at 35 Edmond-Rostand Street in the 6th arrondissement, it marks the relocation of Dominicans to Marseilles after their expulsion in 1794. This project, the first of the new Province of Toulouse founded in 1865, was funded by Anne Rosine Noilly-Prat and led by Father Hyacinthe-Marie Cormier, provincial of the order.

The Dominicans' origins in Marseilles date back to 1225, when they settled on the outskirts of the city, near the Italian road, in a house for pilgrims called the Saint-Michel des Ytiers Hospital. Their convent, close to the present high school Thiers, experienced a boom as it welcomed in 1300 the general chapter of the order. In 1361 Bishop Guillaume Sudre, himself a Dominican, recruited members to structure the Marseilles Church. However, in 1524, buildings outside the ramparts were destroyed for security reasons, and the community was dissolved in 1794 during the Revolution.

The reconstruction of the convent in the 19th century was marked by difficulties, including the expulsions of 1880 and 1903, which interrupted its expansion. Auctioned in 1906, it was bought by the children of Mrs. Noilly-Prat. The Dominicans could not return until 1921. The whole, including the church and convent, became private property of the Dominican Province of Toulouse, despite its construction before the 1905 law on the separation of churches and the state. Work continued until 2004 to complete the cloister in Bossan style.

During the Second World War, the convent played a crucial role in protecting the persecuted, especially the Jews escaped from the camp of the Thousand. Under the direction of Father Réginald de Parseval, the Dominicans organized their reception and concealment in the basements. They also participated in intellectual resistance by disseminating clandestine publications such as The Voice of the Vatican and the Cahiers of Christian Testimonial. Simone Weil, presented at the convent in 1941 by Father Joseph-Marie Perrin, was actively engaged until 1942.

Recognized for his humanitarian commitment, Father Perrin was honoured in 1999 as Just among the Nations by Yad Vashem. A commemorative plaque today recalls the role of the convent in the protection of refugees. Notre-Dame-du-Rosaire Church and its crypt were listed as historical monuments in 1995. Although not fully completed during the lifetime of Bossan, this convent remains the only religious set conceived by him still in use today.

The architecture of the convent, initiated by Pierre Bossan and continued by his disciple Joannis Rey, combines neo-classical and Romano-Byzantine elements. The church, consecrated in 1878, was enlarged in 1889, while the wings of the convent were gradually added, the last (West Wing) dating back to the 1930s. In 2010, the South wing finally completed the whole, offering remarkable stylistic coherence. The original iconography and the turbulent history of the site make it an emblematic Marseille heritage.

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